Needing to be Needed
by Galbert-Kun
Summary: Sunohara will do whatever it takes for a girl to like him. After a recent Theater Club meeting, he has his eyes set on Kotomi. He hopes that she accepts his feelings. *SunoTomi pairing, COMPLETE, R/R*
1. Feeling It

Disclaimer= **I do not own Clannad.**

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It all started with a kiss. Nagisa and Tomoya got all of the members from Theater Club to do a skit from whatever play and perform it at the next meeting. To not have any deliberation, the members were divided into groups of two. Tomoya was with Kyou and Nagisa was with Ryou. It was a short meeting because a group was permitted to leave as soon as they finished their skit. Not one person left. Everyone got so into it that a few people, presumably hearing the noise coming from the room, came from the outside and formed a little audience. Sunohara and Kotomi were the last two to perform. Their act started off as a little slow, but it picked up towards the middle. The ending was how the beginning of this commenced. Tomoya had to narrate the last line of their skit because it required for a narrator.

"Don and Maria overcame all of the obstacles. Their love grew stronger at the end."

"They kissed so their life will forever have bliss."

"Oh yeah, we are supposed to kiss Kotomi." Sunohara was slightly nervous.

"Go and kiss you two, I have stuff to do in a little bit." Tomoya was growing impatient.

"Lets do this Kotomi."

"Okay." They both shut their eyes and start to kiss. It's a quick kiss on the lips because the two quickly pull back. Everyone was clapping because they performed their skit the best. Sunohara and Kotomi were not taking any bows; they kept staring at each other. Sparks flew between the two. Slowly but surely, they closed their eyes and kissed each other again. This second kiss was longer and more passionate. No one was expecting them to kiss again, so you can understand the shock factor registered on their faces.

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Sunohara woke up earlier than usual. He couldn't sleep much at all because he would keep waking up from the same dream he was having. Every time he kissed Kotomi for the second time, he would wake up in a cold sweat. Waking up all of those times lit up a light bulb in his head. He was going to talk to Kotomi after Theater Club. He knew as he was getting ready for school that he was going to get peculiar glances as well as a few pats on the back.

It was impossible for Sunohara to concentrate in school because of the events from the previous day. He knew Kotomi sort of well from what he has been told as well as the Club. She was a very smart girl who needed major work on her social skills. He was able to eat his Wonton chips; however, he kept spitting out his apple juice. Perhaps he was overanalyzing the significance of the second kiss but conventional wisdom said that he needed to talk to Kotomi as soon as possible regarding the kiss and also if there was any possibility of a _them_. Luckily for Sunohara, he saw Kotomi walking by herself so he obviously called her over.

"Hey Kotomi, how are you doing?"

"I'm doing good, thank you."

"Did you have a good lunch?"

"It was good, thank you for asking." Sunohara was sweating a little bit.

"I was hoping we could talk about what happened yesterday…"

"What is there to talk about?"

"Well, we kissed on the lips. Twice."

"Was it not part of our skit?"

"Yes… _the first kiss was_."

"I see."

"Yeah, um, why did we kiss a second time?"

"You tell me."

"Oh well, um, we were in the moment. After that first kiss, we looked into each other's eyes lovingly. It was as though our hearts yearned for us to kiss again."

"That was a great analysis Sunohara…-kun."

"What?" He started to blush, as did Kotomi.

"We should go to the Theater Club room for the meeting. We are going to be late."

"Yeah, being late would not be good." Everyone arrived early and all of the members had their eyes on Sunohara and Kotomi. Sunohara sat far away from Kotomi because it would have been awkward if the two of them sat next to each other. They did, however, exchange glances from time to time. As everyone was leaving, Sunohara pulled Kotomi to the side.

"Kotomi, I couldn't stop thinking about you during the entire time we were in there."

"Okay."

"Do you want to go out with me this evening? I mean, we can go grab a coffee or do whatever you like…"

"Sure why not?"

"Thank you so much! Forgive me for over thinking about what happened yesterday… it's just that I think that there could perhaps be something brewing between us."

"Its okay, I forgive you."

"I'll be by your house later to pick you up then… Kotomi-chan."

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In the back of his mind, Sunohara wondered what he was doing. The date wasn't going the way he was envisioning it. He was not worried though because he was just happy to be on a date. To Sunohara, it was important to have Kotomi talk a lot even if her sentences were not long. He talked some too and also made her laugh some. He walked her home after they finished their coffee.

"Thanks again for going out with me Kotomi."

"I had a great time Sunohara, but I should be getting to bed now."

"We should go out again one of these days."

"Yes, I'd like that."

"Well, good night Kotomi."

"Good night Sunohara." They were going to kiss again, but they stopped themselves halfway and just shook hands. Sunohara sprinted home.

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Time passes and Sunohara and Kotomi are frequently seen together. Although they do not hold hands, they walk very close to each other. Everyone at school was buzzing about them being a couple. Kyou brought it up at a Theater Club meeting.

"Sunohara, you and Kotomi have been all over each other for months. Are you two going out?"

"Yes we are." Kotomi shyly nodded in agreement. Sunohara spoke up again.

"We are not going out EVERY weekend; more like every other weekend."

"Okay, but are you guys like, I don't know, boyfriend and girlfriend?" Sunohara and Kotomi both looked at each other and blushed.

"Yes. Kotomi-chan and I are boyfriend and girlfriend." Sunohara looked at Kotomi once again, but this time she looked away.

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We find Sunohara and Tomoya chilling at the Furukawa Bakery. It was a slow day over there.

"I'm proud of you Sunohara. You managed to sweep Kotomi off her feet."

"Hehe, not exactly."

"What do you mean?"

"We are seeing each other as often as we can. Things are good and all; but, she is becoming a little distant."

"The skit you and her did in Theater Club still bothering you?"

"How can it not man? After that first kiss, we looked into each other's eyes and kissed again."

"Maybe it was the heat of the moment?"

"Eh yes and no. I personally think we kissed again because… it felt right to."

"You really care about her huh?"

"Yeah I do. I'm getting the impression that she doesn't feel the same way about me." Tomoya smiled and closed his eyes.

"I heard Kotomi is going to play her violin at an outdoor recital at school tomorrow."

"Oh that's cool. I heard that she is getting better at it."

"HELLO SUNOHARA! That is your chance to show your true feelings towards Kotomi."

"But how though?"

"You're a smart person, you'll figure it out." There was silence for a few minutes.

"I GOT IT! Thanks Okazaki!" Sunohara raced home to get a pen and paper.

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A/N= **I hope you liked the story so far. Chapter 2 will be posted up soon.**


	2. Keeping it Real

Disclaimer= **I do not own Clannad.**

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Sunohara was having a hard time think of something concrete to write down. It was 3 AM, and he had already gone through a couple of boxes of notebook paper. He wanted to make sure that what he was going to say was perfect. Writing was his Achilles heel; he would write one or two lines and then crunch the paper up to discard it.

"Why the hell is it so hard to write a few damn lines down?!"

"I cannot give up. I know that Kotomi-chan will love whatever I have written down on the paper." Sunohara was finally starting to make progress on the paper when the alarm on his cell phone goes off. Its 7AM and he has not gotten any sleep whatsoever. There was no way he could sleep now. Sunohara concluded that he would finish his writing at lunch.

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Sunohara was feverishly working during lunch.

"You got to stop drinking alcohol; your eyes are all bloodshot."

"Very funny Okazaki. I've been up all night."

"What are you writing, a love letter to Kotomi?"

"You could say that..."

"I see you got my hint. Her recital is coming up in a little bit so you should probably wrap things up here."

"Okay, I was almost done anyways."

"Can I read what you've written?"

"Sorry Okazaki, you are going to have to wait to be wowed like everyone else."

"Well, good luck dude." Sunohara beat his chest like a gorilla. He was excited about reading his paper to Kotomi.

"I hope she likes my words. I hope she appreciates the effort I put in."

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The audience came prepared for Kotomi's recital with triple-padded ear plugs. They did not use them because Kotomi played a beautiful rendition of Vivaldi's Four Seasons. She played a couple of more Vivaldi pieces to a thunderous approval from the audience. As soon as she stepped off the stage, Sunohara stepped on to a crickety ambience.

"Hello everyone, I'm Sunohara Youhei. Forgive me for what I look like right now. I was up all night writing something that I plan to read to you all right now."

"My poem does not have a title. This is dedicated to a girl I care about deeply." He got a couple of awws from the crowd. Here's how the poem read:

_I wasn't sure about a title_

_I had no idea how to begin this_

_my feelings for you have no reset button_

_like a stopwatch, it's timeless..._

Sunohara tore up the paper and grabbed the microphone.

"Who the hell am I kidding, I can't write poems for anything!" He directed his attention towards Kotomi.

"Kotomi-chan listen to me! I was up all night trying to write that poem for you. I just realized that I don't need a poem to say what I'm going to say."

"That day in Theater Club is a day I will never forget. The skit we did required us to kiss on the lips and so we did that. When I pulled back, I felt sparks fly and possibly a connection starting. We kissed each other again and that felt so right, I can't even beGIN to tell you."

"You let me take you out on dates and I've felt that we have grown closer each date, you know, since we are boyfriend and girlfriend..." Those last five words got the entire audience buzzing.

"Get on with it Youhei!"

"Oh yeah sorry. Anyways Kotomi-chan, you may not know it, but you make me the happiest guy in the world. I just want to say from the bottom of my heart... **I love you.**" The entire audience awwed. Sunohara looked at Kotomi, who blushed and looked away. He was shocked that she didn't say anything. It started to rain. The weather was already chilly to begin with, which made the rain even colder. Sunohara was absolutely crushed.

"Thank you everyone for being a good audience." He dropped the mic and ran off, away from a yelling Tomoya and a confused Kotomi. He didn't go home, but rather he went to the park.

"_I hate the rain, it sucks. But I guess I love it right now because no one will know that I'm bawling my eyes out._"

"I'm freezing my butt off, but I don't care. I can't believe Kotomi-chan did not say anything. She freaking stayed silent for crying out loud! Why didn't she say anything, WHY?" Sunohara layed in a fetal position on his side and slowly closed his eyes. He was too tired to notice a guy and a girl walking straight towards him.

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Sunohara woke up on a couch with a towel draped over his forehead and nearby a fireplace.

"Where am I?"

"You are at my house, Sunohara-kun." It didn't take long for him to recognize the voice.

"Is that you Kotomi?"

"Yes it is. Tomoya-san and I found you cradled up at the center of the playground. What on earth were you thinking?"

"I tend to do crazy stuff from time to time."

"I was worried about you."

"Thank you. I hope I didn't scare you too bad..."

"You did actually. You could've contacted hypothermia."

"I'm glad I didn't. Thanks for saving me Kotomi."

"I'll do anything for my _boyfriend_." That last one woke Sunohara up completely. The wound was still raw.

"Yea about that..." He got up and headed for the door. Kotomi grabbed his shoulder. He turned around and fell on his knees. Sunohara was very weak from being in the cold for so long. He was panting heavily.

"Sunohara-kun, what are you doing?"

"I am going home."

"You are not well enough to go yet."

"I don't care."

"About what happened at school during the recital - -"

"Do not even start with that Kotomi. I ran off and wandered around in the freezing cold because of you. Do you realize how much you hurt me? My heart felt as though it was crushed into tiny pieces. We have been going out for months. I'm very happy with you. I'm not getting the same vibe from you."

"Sunohara-kun..." He was trying to get up again.

"I don't know if I can do this anymore..." Sunohara was trying to head for the door again, but Kotomi wouldn't let him pass.

"Sunohara-kun please rest, you have not gained enough strength to return home."

"I don't care. If I die going home - -" He was turning the knob to open the door, but Kotomi turned him around and layed a big kiss on his lips.

"Please do not leave me alone Sunohara-kun, _I love you_." Sunohara stopped turning the knob. His eyes had that glint in them. He turned around and sat back down on the couch, followed by Kotomi. They kissed again and also touched foreheads.

"What did you say?"

"I love you Sunohara-kun." He was on the verge of crying.

"Do you know how long I've been waiting for you to say those three words to me?!" Sunohara could no longer hold back the tears and thus broke down and started crying. Kotomi did the same.

"I'm so sorry. If I knew how to word it before, I would have said those words sooner."

"I understand."

"When we kissed in Theater Club and looked into each other's eyes, it was as though time stopped. That only meant one thing: I fell in love with you from that moment on."

"You practically echoed my thoughts Kotomi-chan."

"You have to understand Sunohara-kun that I'm learning how to be social. So please do not give up on me because _I need you_. I'm trying to be as social as my abilities let me be. Please do not give up on me. Please do not leav - -" Sunohara put a finger on Kotomi's lips to intimately shh her.

"Stop saying crazy things Kotomi-chan. I'll always be with you. Why would I entertain such thoughts when things are going to be perfect now? I will never leave you. I will always be by your side."

"Sunohara-kun..." She started to cry again. They were touching foreheads again. They kissed once again.

"I love you Kotomi-chan. I'll always love you."

"I'll always love you too Sunohara-kun." They fell asleep in each other's arms on the couch.

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From that night on, Sunohara was a different person. He and Kotomi were official and they were not afraid to hold hands and be affectionate in public. Tomoya and company were happy for him and for Kotomi.

All someone may need for love to blossom (besides being told those three words) is just being told they are needed. If you tell someone that in an emotional way like Kotomi did, you'll get that person. In the beginning, Sunohara and Kotomi were confused about how they felt about each other. She saying to him that she needed him forever changed their relationship.

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A/N= **Thank you for reading both chapters of **_**Needing to be Needed**_**. If this relationship actually happened in the anime, I sincerely believe that Sunohara and Kotomi would grow old together.**


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